


our love is the best gift you could give

by makemelovely



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Mild Language, Secret Santa, the party but like they dont really talk so, they're a few years older than canon, vaguely implied/mentioned stoncy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 14:05:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17143139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makemelovely/pseuds/makemelovely
Summary: Jane and Max have a fun holiday of loving each other, Santa watching with Holly Wheeler, and Secret Santa with the Party.





	our love is the best gift you could give

Jane Hopper loves Christmas almost as much as she loves her girlfriend Max Mayfield. While she loves Max unconditionally, Christmas doesn't get the same treatment. If it’s too cold then she’d rather skip the holiday. Too much snow? That’s fine she’ll just stay in bed all day. With Max, though, it’s different. It could be negative a million degrees outside and if Max called and asked her to come over, then Jane would be over in a heartbeat.

 

Really, it’s kind of simple. Jane wouldn't do anything for Christmas, but she  _ would  _ do anything for Max.

 

Even wake up at four in the morning for some bullshit Santa hunt with Holly Wheeler because she lost a bet with Mike.

 

_ “C’mon, Jane. Please! I don't want to do it alone.” Max pleads on the phone. Christmas Eve is in a week which is a problem because Hop really likes spending Christmas with their family. He even plays the Christmas music that he and Jonathan hate but Jane, Joyce, and Will like. He won't like her spending the night somewhere else, but he’ll hopefully be fine with it as long as she gets home before their morning really begins. _

 

_ “Why can't you do it alone?” Jane asks, sighing. She’s perfectly aware that she’ll be asking Hop about it as soon as she possibly can, but she’d still like to pretend that saying no is an option. _

 

_ Max laughs, the sound more breath than anything else. “Jane, you  _ know  _ I’m absolute shit with kids. Knowing me I’d probably manage to kill Holly somehow.” _

 

_ “Okay, true,” Jane replies slowly, carefully choosing her words. “But why can't Mrs. Wheeler do it?” _

 

_ “Mike’s parents are on that cruise their marriage counselor suggested they go on to heal or whatever. They didn't realize how piss-poor the timing was, and when they called to talk to Mike about it he told them to just, like, stay and fix their sham of a marriage or whatever. And Nancy is at college because she didn't want to spend the holidays fighting with the ‘rents about her boyfriends.” Max informs her before continuing on. “She’ll get here around the twenty seventh, but until then they’re on their own. And Mike is a lazy asshole who didn't want to stay up half the night with his sister.” The words on their own sound harsh, but Jane knows Max so she can practically see the fond smile on Max’s face. _

 

_ She might fight tooth and nail to deny that she loves her losers (except for Jane. She’ll fight tooth and nail to say she loves Jane) but she does. _

 

_ There’s silence on both ends until Max breaks it. “Please, Jane?” She pleads quietly, her stomach twisting at the thought of spending all night with a young, impressionable child. Who knows what Max will say? She’ll probably slip up too often and curse like hell in front of her, but what if she says something that permanently screws up Holly? What happens then? _

 

_ “...I’ll talk to Hop as soon as I can.” Jane finally answers, smiling at the relieved huff that escapes Max’s mouth. _

 

_ “You, Jane Hopper, are an angel!” Max praises her. _

 

_ “And don't you forget it.” Jane jokes, hanging up with a dopey, ecstatic grin on her face. _

 

_ (She may have to call Max back to get the details, but her heart is soaring into the clouds. Maybe Christmas is almost on even footing with Max, after all.) _

 

Jane arrives at ten pm as requested. She’s in her pajamas, and her Santa hat is hanging loosely in her hand. She knocks hastily on the door, shivering in the cold December night.

 

The door opens, and Max is grinning at her, cheeks flushed and face glowing. Jane feels like she’s floating into the house, her arms making their way around Max’s neck as they kiss gently in the doorway. They break apart slightly, grinning at each other. Something bubbles up in her stomach, weird and warm. That always happens when she’s around Max.

 

“Ew!” Holly cries out, pushing between Max and Jane. Holly wraps her arms around Jane’s legs in a hug, smiling up at the brunette.

 

“Seconded, Holls.” Mike says from the stairs, smirking at the blushing girls. “I’m going to head to my room soon, but I’ll be using the phone for a little bit.” He shares his plans with them, padding down the stairs and to the phone.

 

“I bet he’s going to call Will.” Max stage whispers. Jane nods, thinking about how Will shyly lights up when Mike leans in closer than he does with say Dustin.

 

“I heard that!” Mike shouts from the next room, his voice higher than before. Jane would bet money his face was red.

 

“You were supposed to!” Max shouts back, giggling a little.

 

Holly tugs on Jane’s hand, attempting to get the short girl’s attention. “I set up cookies on the table, and we can sit on the stairs to watch for Santa.” Holly blinks at Jane, wide-eyed and innocent.

 

“Cool. I can make us a late night snack later while we wait.” Jane reaches out, swinging Holly into her arms.

 

Max smiles fondly at her girlfriend. Holly shrieks and giggles while insisting she’s too old to be picked up still, but every time Jane moves to put her down the tiny blonde clings tighter.

 

The trio of girls move to the top of the stairs, Jane being extra careful because of the child in her arms. Jane sets Holly down, quickly swiping a hand under her nose to get the blood before anybody notices. They stay there until it’s almost one in the morning, and the girls can finally move because Holly fell asleep.

 

Max shuffles sleepily into Jane’s side, her face buried in Jane’s neck. “Babe, I’m tired.” She breathes.

 

“I know, baby.” Jane whispers, kissing her softly on her forehead. “Merry Christmas, Max.”

 

“Merry Christmas, Jane.” Max replies, eyes bright for a minute before her eyes shut and she leans back against the banister.

 

Jane chuckles softly under her breath, grabbing Holly and carrying the little girl to her room. She tucks Holly in, grabbing a tissue for her bloody nose on the way out. Holly had been sick lately so the tissues had been a staple in her bedroom for the last week or so.

 

“Let’s go, Max.” Jane reaches out and pulls Max to her feet, using her powers to keep Max upright and moving.

 

They get into the car, and soon they’re at Max’s home. Jane manages to get Max into the apartment she’s been renting ever since she got emancipated without being seen. She sets her girlfriend into her bed, kissing her gently before getting up to leave.

 

Max reaches out, grabbing her wrist quickly to prevent her departure. “I’ll see you at Wheeler’s holiday party tomorrow?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Max’s face relaxes. “Drive safe.”

 

Jane feels a strong burst of love in her chest. Her girlfriend truly is the best. “Will do.” She murmurs, voice low.

 

Her grip slackens, allowing Jane to pull free. “I love you.” Max breathes.

 

“Love you, too.” Jane pauses to make sure she’s really asleep before she leaves.

 

The next day she returns to the Wheeler house. They start Secret Santa as soon as everyone arrives.

 

Dustin gets Jane a big pile of candy and comic books and quarters for the arcade, proclaiming that she needed more geek education.

 

Lucas had Dustin, Will had Mike, Max had Will, and Mike had Lucas. Finally it’s Jane’s turn. “Here.” She meets Max’s eyes steadily, enjoying the warm look in the other girl’s eyes.

 

Max accepts it along with a quick kiss, and she tears into it ravenously. “Oh, Jane.” She breathes when she unearths a skateboard.

 

Jane starts talking quickly, desperate to fill the silence after Max had spoken. “I know your skateboard was broken after you tried to teach me how to ride it so I, um, thought I’d get you a new one.”

 

_ It had been three weeks before Christmas. Max thought it would be fun if she and her girlfriend had something special they shared that the rest of the Party didn't. It was  _ supposed _ to be fun, but the fun ended rather abruptly after Jane accidentally pushed too hard with her powers and sent the skateboard rushing over a patch of ice. _

 

_ Jane had fallen off the skateboard, and in her panic, managed to give the skateboard another push, this one a bit bigger than the last. They had found it in the woods in the middle of a stream, ice cold to the touch, and missing two wheels. They hadn't found the wheels, and Max needed to focus on paying her rent so she wasn't able to get a new skateboard. _

 

Jane finishes her explanation awkwardly, waiting for Max to answer.

 

“I love it!” Max declares, leaning over to grab Jane and hug her hard. “I love you.” She declares.

 

Jane kisses her swiftly. “I love you, too.”

 

They never do end up teaching Jane to skateboard, but Max does end up carving their initials into her new skateboard.


End file.
